Panic Deep Below

Ray's eyes darted around the aquarium, heart pounding at his ribs. He wouldn't be able to reach Marlin in time. Should he prioritize getting the pygmy whales away from the danger? Get closer to the specter to get its attention and distract it? Was there nothing he could do to keep the boy safe?

Marlin lunged and jabbed specter's soft, gelatinous dome. The lockpick pushed in without puncturing the outer layer and bounced back, propelling the kid and the animal away from each other. But not fast enough.

The stingweave specter shivered and shrunk, its stripes slowly bleeding a brilliant red, tinting its entire form. The tendrils wriggled, spreading out in every direction. A thin tentacle whipped out towards Marlin.

The boy went flying. Something big and heavy slammed into him, sending his body hurling through the water. A plaintive, low wail stung the eardrums. Dizzy and disoriented, Marlin shook his head, struggling to open his eyes, when a strong grip tightened around his wrist. He brought his legs in, prepared to dish out a kick. A hand cupped his face.

Marlin's eyes snapped open. The specter was still rampaging, throwing his long tendrils in a wide, haphazard pattern all around itself. The whales huddled at the aquarium's depth, pacing near a motionless body of their kin. Beautiful splashes of bright blues, purples, and reds bloomed on the side of a dead whale.

Ray tapped the boy on the cheek, met his eyes, held out his other hand palm-up, and flexed his fingers, demanding his due. Marlin dug inside his pouch and brought out a bunch of items. He extended a net of mussels, but then pulled it back, shuffled his possessions and offered Ray a rough, dark sphere instead.

The round object was heavy for its small size and had a protruding cap on top. Ray started. A high-pressure grenade. It took a significant effort not to exhale all the air from his lungs in a sigh. How naive he'd been to think the situation couldn't get worse.

Praying this was the only grenade Marlin had, Ray pocketed it and snatched the mussels from the boy's hands. He eyed the kid with a squint. Should he tell Marlin to leave? Or would that backfire again? What was the least destructive way to use him?

It was a tough decision to sacrifice a whale to ensure Marlin's safety, guilt weighted on Ray: the animal trusted him and let itself be guided towards its own demise. His heart cramped, remembering those round, soulful eyes. But there was no time to look for a better solution. And it kept running out, as his breath did.

Marlin flailed his arms, unleashing a flood of rapidly changing faces before turning upside-down to blow out his cheeks like a pufferfish. Ray frowned and shrugged at the boy. Then gestured repeatedly at the lifeless whale and motioned towards the side opposite the exit hatch. He wanted to wave his hands slowly to indicate "gently", but feared the kid's imagination would take a bizarre turn. Instead, he opted for a cowardly thumbs up.

As Marlin swam away, Ray reassessed specter's mood. It was still scared, panicking, its bell an alarming crimson, tendrils whipping around protectively. Simply luring it away with mussels was out of the question now. He needed to calm it down first.

Ray inched closer to the animal, trying to disturb the water as little as possible, took out turtle grass, and crashed the plant between his fingers to spread its earthy, damp scent. Easy, buddy, you're in shallower waters, no threats here. The tentacles slowed down, feeling their surroundings more tentatively.

The whales yowled. Marlin was shooing them away as they were bumping into him in an attempt to divert his attention from their fallen friend. Ray smiled, the boy was playing a role of a rather unsuccessful predator. Better stop this before the whales create too much vibration in the water. Although they didn't reach the other side, they at least were no longer in the way.

Ray struck two mussels together to catch Marlin's attention, and beckoned him with a tilt of his head. They moved to put the specter in-between themselves and the exit. Ray pulled out a finger-sized handlight, placed it in the kid's palm, and pointed it slightly askew of the swaying animal. Then tapped a peculiar rhythm on Marlin's wrist and touched the flashlight, making sure to meet the boy's eyes. Marlin nodded.

The cone of light blinked in and out of existence in a vague approximation of a repeated Morse code message. The specter shivered, shrinking away from the flashes, its coloration turning blue. Ray darted to the other side of the animal, removed the top of his diving suit, and knotted its collar and sleeves tight before stuffing it with mussels. Grabbing and widening the only opening left, he directed it towards the specter, tempting it with a dark and safe burrow full of delicious snacks.

The time stalled in a fragile stalemate. The specter wobbled side to side, then leaned closer to Ray, approaching the trap shyly, appearing more purple by the second. Carefully maneuvering backwards, Ray gestured for Marlin to follow closely with the light signal. The progress was slow: it was paramount to keep the fake burrow not too far and risk losing specter's interest, nor too close and risk getting stung when it would rush inside.

At last, the exit was within arm's reach. Ray stopped and kept his eyes trained on the specter. All tendrils twitched in unison. He let go of the suit and yanked the yellow pendant off his neck. Making sure to limit the touching, he swiftly tied up the only opening. With Marlin close by, Ray opened the hatch and, gripping the sack strictly by the string, hurled it inside. The hazard contained.

***

"Who gives a damn about this thing? Kick it out!"

Ray and Marlin were back on the ship, cruising to their next destination.

"They might have killed it. And the poor thing drifted far away from its natural habitat. No wonder it was so confused."

"Killing it is the best call! This creepy-floaty is deadly."

"Hardly a single person dies from a stingweave specter every year. You're overreacting."

"Never! I almost keeled over myself. Wha-"

Ray stilled the boy with a stormy stare. "And whose fault was that?"

As Marlin turned around, ready to rush out of the cabin, sulking, Ray put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hopefully, by the next time, I'll earn enough of your trust, and you won't disregard my judgment so completely."

"I just wanted to help. Helping is good."

"It wouldn't have made me happy if you helped at the cost of your own life."

"I'll do better next time!"

Ray sighed and buried his face in his hand.

"And..." Marlin chewed on his lip. "I'll try to listen to your words more. But then you'll make me those salmon pancakes every day! Every hour!"

"There is only that much salmon in the ocean," he chuckled and ruffled the boy's hair. "And don't worry, I'll release the specter the moment we get close to its home."

"Mmhm, lucky, stupid thing."

A high-pitched ping rang through the ship. With a soft fizz, a holographic screen popped open above the control panel. Ray put on a frown and scurried over there to check out the notification. After a quick glance, he relaxed.

"We're quite lucky too! Come on, Marlin, check the portholes. The starboard side."

The boy grumbled, but dragged his feet to the window as he was told.

"Whatever you hype up, always ends up being a total bore. I'm gonna look out for a second and not a- Wow! Huge!" Marlin pressed flat against the glass, mouth agape, eyes sparkling, feet tapping.

"So gracious despite their enormous size," Ray joined the boy.

A bale of majestic turtles soared past, their massive forms swimming straight ahead or swirling around each other, swaying from side to side or speeding up and down along the current. Their faces serene, eyes omniscient, every flipper stroke momentous and deliberate. It looked like they were flying. The scene radiated peace.

"They keep coming."

"These gentle giants are usually solitary, but they join together when migrating. Quite a rare occasion. Saw posters in the Driftmoor Exchange: they'll be holding a festival to watch the beauties."

"Festival? We're so going!"

"If we can make it back in time," Ray forced his lips into a smile. "There are other festivals worth..."

He trailed off. A small shadow slithered between the turtles. Not actually small, it was at least as big as their ship, but next to these indisputable titans it was easy to overlook.

"One party can't replace the other. The more we hit, the better," Marlin turned to face Ray. "Keep arguing or it's no fun."

"We should put some distance betwe-"

Strong vibrations rocked the ship, the turtles relaying a warning. They scattered around, growing dangerously large in the view of the porthole, fleeing from a ravenous megaloshark.